Category of especially protected natural areas established by constituent entities of Russia: statistical and legal analysis

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu25.2018.408

Abstract

Constituent entities of the Russian Federation have the right to establish their own protected area categories (i.e. regional categories) that are not mentioned in the Federal Law On Protected Areas. The objectives of this study are to determine the number of regional categories, to list and group their names, to understand their distribution across the constituent entities of the federation, to find out how they are used, and to reveal legal problems. The research is based on the legislation as of January 2019 and on official statistical information as of January 2018 or later. The full list of regional categories was prepared. There are 85 constituent entities in Russia, and there are 255 categories in 64 of them. There are 140 unique categories, and 92 categories were mentioned in the legislation of only one constituent entity, and none of the categories were mentioned at least in half of the regions. Categories of protected areas of local importance exist in 59 regions. Moderate positive correlation between the number of categories and the number of real protected areas is observed. The most important legal problems are the copying of categories from Federal Law On Protected Areas and confusion between legal regime of protected areas and the legal regime of other areas that have some value for conservation e.g. water protection zones, protective forests and especially protective forest plots, medical rehabilitation localities and resorts, historical and cultural monuments. It is doubtful whether this legislation complies with the protection of human rights and principle of equality as well as with the division of power between the Russian Federation and its constituent entities. Legal problems of regional categories are caused by uncertainty in the definition of protected areas and excessive rigidity of protected area categories system established by the federal law. The preferred way to solve the problems is not the cancellation of regional categories, but thorough long-term work based on principles of scientific justification, individualization, and dialog. 

Keywords:

environmental protection, protected areas, protected area categories, legislation of constituent entities of Russia, federalism, division of powers, legal statistics, empirical legal studies

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
 

References

Anisimov, Aleksei P. 2018. “Semi-protected natural areas” in the environmental law of Russia and CIS countries: discussion questions. Biznes. Obrazovanie. Pravo. Vestnik Volgogradskogo instituta biznesa 1 (42): 159–163. (In Russian)

Antonova, Svetlana L., Belozerov, Andrei N. 2011. Comments to the Federal Law 33-FZ, dated 14 Mar. 1995, On especially protected natural areas. Moscow, ConsultantPlus. (In Rusian)

Bednova, Ol’ga V. 2008. Forests of Moscow especially protected natural areas: recreation or environmental protection. Lesnoi vestnik 1: 41–48. (In Russian)

Beliaeva, Elena, and Panaseikina, Veronika. 2016. The regional mechanism of management of especially protected natural territories. Wschodnioeuropejskie Czasopismo Naukowe (East European Scientific Journal) 8: 29–32. (In Russian)

Brinikh, Valery A. 2014. Commentary to Federal Law “Amending the Federal Law ‘On specially protected natural areas’ and some legislative acts of the Russian Federation” dated 28 December 2013 No 406-FZ. Astrakhanskii vestnik ekologicheskogo obrazovaniia 1 (27): 23–31. (In Russian)

Dekhtereva, Liana P. 2003. Problems of conservation and development of urban natural areas in nature conservation legislation. Lesnoi vestnik 4: 21–31. (In Russian)

Dubovik, Ol’ga L. (ed.). 2015. Comments to the Federal Law 33-FZ, dated 14 Mar. 1995, On especially protected natural areas. Moscow, ConsultantPlus. (In Russian)

Dudley, Nigel (ed.). 2008. Guidelines for applying protected area management categories. Gland, Switzerland, IUCN.

Evsegneev, Vladimir A. 2004. The concept of especially valuable lands according to the Land Code of the Russian Federation. Ekologicheskoe parvo 1: 17–19. (In Russian)

Galsanova, Aiagma B. 2016. Other especially protected natural areas categories according to the legislation of constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Intellektual’nyi i nauchnyi potentsial XXI veka: sb. st. mezhdunar. nauch.-praktich. Konf., vol. 5. Ufa, AETERNA Publ.: 86–89. (In Russian)

Golodova, Olga A. 2018. Development of the management system of specially protected natural areas of the region. Nauchnyi al’manakh 4-1 (42): 36–39. (In Russian)

Gripp, El’vina Kh., Iakhina, Iuliia Kh. 2017. Problematic aspects of legal regulation of status of especially protected natural areas of regional importance. Aktual’nye problemy gosudarstva i obshchestva v oblasti obespecheniia prav i svobod cheloveka i grazhdanina 1-1: 74–80. (In Russian)

Ignat’eva, Inna A. 2010. The latest directions of development of legislation on especially protected natural areas. Biznes, menedzhment i parvo 1 (21): 132–138. (In Russian)

Ivanov, Andrei N., Chizhova, Vera P. 2019. Protected natural areas. Moscow, Urait Publ. (In Russian)

Izyurov, Evgenii Yu., Ogrodovaya, Liudmila Ya. 2015. Legal issues of establishing and developing specially protected natural areas of local significance. Ekologicheskoe parvo 6: 22–27. (In Russian)

Khmeleva, Ekaterina N. (ed.). 2009. Problems of especially protected natural areas legislation and recommendations for its enhancement (analitycal review of legislation and the draft new edition of Federal law on especially protected natural areas). Moscow, WWF Publ. (In Russian)

Khmeleva, Ekaterina N. 2014. Legal regulation of especially protected natural territories: problems, solutions, and questions without answers. Astrakhanskii vestnik ekologicheskogo obrazovaniia 1 (27): 16–23. (In Russian)

Kniazeva, S. V. 2007. Legal regime of use of especially protected natural areas in constituent entities of the Federation (the case of Saratov region). Lex Russica 6: 1212–1215. (In Russian)

Kruglov, Viktor V. 2010. On the problems of legal regulation of environmental protection and rational use of natural resources in the region. Rossiiskoe pravo: obrazovanie, praktika, nauka 5: 15–22. (In Russian)

Kruss, Vladimir I., Vikhrova, Viktoriia A. 2017. Federative aspects of constitutionalization of legal regimes of especially protected natural areas in the Russian Federation (the case of Tverskoy region). Aktual’nye problemy teorii i praktiki konstitutsionnogo sudoproizvodstva 12: 196–203. (In Russian)

Kuznetsova, Anastasiia V. 2008. Distinctive features of legal regime of especially protected natural areas in Moscow city. Ekologicheskoe parvo 4: 18–22. (In Russian)

Navasardova, Eleonora S., Kolesnikova, Kira V. 2016. On the flaws in environmental legislation that feed corruption. Kriminologicheskii zhurnal baikal’skogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta ekonomiki i prava 1: 185–193. (In Russian)

Pasechnyk, Olga S., Rozumovych, Irina N., and Rishkova, Liudmila V. 2016. Legal regime of especially protected natural areas in Crimea: prospects of enhancement. Nauchnyi vestnik Kryma 5 (5): 1–11. (In Russian)

Reimers, Nikolai F., Shtil’mark, Feliks R.1978. Especially protected natural areas. Moscow, Mysl’ Publ. (In Russian)

Shestakov, Aleksandr S. 2009. Programm of work on protected natural areas under the Convention on Biodiversity. Comments for the practical application in the regions of Russia. Moscow, WWF Publ. (In Russian)

Ukhlova, Elena V. 2009. Federal and regional legislation on restrictions of human rights to land. Rossiiskii iuridicheskii zhurnal 4: 131–137. (In Russian)

Vasil’eva, Mariia I. 2005. Law of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation “On Environmental Protection”: the attempt of legal modeling. Zakonodatel’stvo i ekonomika 11: 75–88. (In Russian)

Vykhodtseva, Svetlana A. 2010. To the problem of especially protected natural areas definition. Vestnik DVIuI MVD Rossii 2 (19): 97–101. (In Russian)

Published

21.01.2020

How to Cite

Syomin, P. O. (2020). Category of especially protected natural areas established by constituent entities of Russia: statistical and legal analysis . Pravovedenie, 62(4), 714–734. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu25.2018.408

Issue

Section

Articles